Renowned classical guitarist Christopher Parkening to share testimony, lead master class

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is welcoming renowned classical guitarist Christopher Parkening to Seminary Hill on October 27-28. Parkening will be visiting the School of Church Music and Worship to share his testimony and host a Q&A time on October 27 at 7:30 p.m., and will be hosting a master class from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on October 28. Both events are open to the public and will be hosted in the Reynolds Performance Hall in Cowden Hall.

“It is an incredible blessing and honor to have Christopher Parkening on our campus,” said Joseph Crider, dean of the School of Church Music and Worship at Southwestern Seminary. “Parkening’s reputation as the world’s greatest guitarist is surpassed only by his dedication to and love for Christ. I cannot express how thankful we are to have Christopher Parkening investing in our students.”

Parkening has been active in the music industry for over 50 years in both performance and education. He has been nominated twice for Grammy awards in the category of “Best Classical Recordings.”

Parkening has performed at the Grammy Awards, Carnegie Hall, and The White House. Throughout his career, Parkening has been involved in higher education as he helped create the guitar programs at both the University of Southern California and at Montana State University.

In 2023, Parkening was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Los Angeles Guitar Festival.

Christopher Parkening is a world-renowned classical guitarist. Parkening is an outspoken Christian and is visiting Southwestern Seminary to share his testimony.

“I am overwhelmed by this opportunity,” said Will Douglas, director of the guitar department in the SCMW. “Christopher Parkening was a major influence on me from the very beginning of my classical guitar studies.”

Douglas added that Parkening’s reputation lends him to be “mentioned in the same breath as Andres Segovia, Pepe Romero, John Williams and Julian Bream.”

During the master class that Parkening is leading, 10 students will be chosen to perform in front of the entire gathering. While there will only be 10 students performing, the event is open to the public and anyone is able to audit the master class.

“Parkening is a teacher of the highest level and an expert master class instructor,” Douglas said. “There will be elements from which all guitarists of all levels will benefit. Technique, musicality, and performance advice will be discussed in detail.”

There is no registration for the events, but both are on a first-come, first-served basis, Douglas said.